Xenetic Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:XBIO) (“Xenetic”), a biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing innovative immune-oncology technologies for the treatment of hard to treat cancers, today announced the signing of a patent assignment from CLS Therapeutics, Inc. (“CLS”) to Xenetic related to Xenetic’s previously announced collaboration with VolitionRx Limited (NYSE AMERICAN:VNRX) (“Volition”), a multi-national epigenetics company, and CLS, a biopharmaceutical company developing first-in-class therapies based on the discovery of novel therapeutic targets. In consideration of the patent assignment, Xenetic will also issue 850,000 shares of common stock to CLS.
“Following the recent licensing deal of our DNase-based oncology to Xenetic in April this year we are pleased to assign the rights to them within our collaborative program with VolitionRx Limited (NYSE AMERICAN: VNRX) (“Volition”) to develop adoptive cell therapies that for the first time can specifically recognize and target nucleosomes, potentially making CAR T cells effective to treat solid tumors” said George Tetz MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of CLS Therapeutics.
“Our team remains intent on driving the DNase technology platform forward with the goal of improving outcomes of existing therapeutic agents in multiple solid tumor indications for which existing therapeutic agents have not been proven to be effective. Our collaboration with Volition and CLS has provided us with research and development partners with expertise and capabilities to help drive the DNase-Armored CAR T™ program forward. We are excited to continue building on the progress we’ve made thus far and on taking the next steps forward in executing on our plans to advance the DNase technology,” commented Jeffrey Eisenberg, Chief Executive Officer of Xenetic.
The Company’s collaboration with Volition is an early exploratory program to evaluate the potential combination of Volition’s Nu.Q® technology and Xenetic’s DNase-Armored CAR T platform to develop proprietary adoptive cell therapies potentially targeting multiple types of solid cancers for which current CAR T cell therapies have shown limited or no effect. Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, Volition will fund a research program and the two parties will share proceeds from commercialization or licensing of any products arising from the collaboration.
Epigenetically modified nucleosomes are present on tumor cell surfaces and within the tumor microenvironment of multiple types of solid cancers, and thus these nucleosomes may represent generalizable tumor antigens that are not limited to a single cancer type. Volition’s Nu.Q® technology can specifically recognize and target epigenetically modified nucleosomes, while Xenetic’s DNase-Armored CAR T platform is designed to enhance the function of CAR T cells within solid tumor microenvironments.
About CLS Therapeutics
CLS Therapeutics, Inc. is a biotechnology company developing therapeutics that target extracellular DNA including NETs to fight many devastating diseases. The company is developing its own AAV-DNase platform technology that can be applied for the treatment of any solid tumors. Additionally, CLS Therapeutics is leveraging the development of recombinant DNase for the treatment of stroke and undisclosed autoimmune diseases.
NEW YORK, NY / September, 2020 / CLS Therapeutics, a preclinical-stage anticancer gene therapy platform company developing novel medicines to bring the curative power of cell-free DNA destruction to patients with tumors, presented preclinical data at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 18, 2019 / CLS Therapeutics, a privately held oncology-focused gene therapy company developing a platform technology based on the identification of a novel therapeutic target that can be utilized for many cancers, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation to CLS-014 for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.h.
CLS Therapeutics Inc., a preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation gene therapy anticancer drugs, today announced that George Tetz, MD, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, presented the poster, “TRANSFORMATIVE ANTICANCER GENE THERAPY PLATFORM ADDRESSING A NOVEL THERAPEUTIC TARGET” at the Cancer Metabolism and Signaling organized by the New York Academy of Sciences May 9, 2019, in New York, New York.